Trixie's Honour
by EvilDoctor1
Summary: Part One of the Midnight Sparkle saga. Trixie is on the hunt for an artifact that could make her 'Great and Powerful' once and for all. It's up to Twilight and her gang to try and stop her.
1. Chapter 1

In the main castle in Canterlot the capital of Equestria, its ruler, Princess Celestia paced her throne room. No matter what she did, she couldn't distract herself. She sighed realizing she could no longer ignore the giant being standing in the corner shrouded partially in darkness whose height almost reached to the top of the high vaulted ceilings.

"Watcher! Why are you here?"

I AM HERE ONLY TO OBSERVE.

Celestia sighed; he is as obtuse as ever, "You only come in times of great danger; what calamity is about to befall Equestria?"

I CAN NOT INTERFERE, I CAN ONLY OBSERVE.

"Do you get pleasure out of watching us struggle? Is that why you don't interfere?"

I FEEL NO PLEASURE, I AM ABOVE SUCH NEEDS. I ONLY DO MY DUTY, NOTHING MORE.

Celestia knew she wasn't going to get any more information from him, "Can you at least observe someplace else? I have dignitaries coming shortly."

TELL THEM I AM HERE TO DO THE WINDOWS.

Celestia glowered at him. For such a superior being, he had an annoyingly inappropriate sense of humour…

* * *

In the library in Ponyville, tension was in the air, one of its residents, a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, was frantic. Her horn glowed brightly as she searched rapidly through book after book; page after page turning with each blink of the eye. Her brow is furrowed, glistening with sweat.

"Spike! Get me _Arks of Myth and History_!" she commanded to her purple and green baby dragon assistant.

"Um, okay." Spike was confused by the request but he quickly located the required tome and brought it his boss.

Twilight looked at the book and her assistant with a small amount of disdain. "Why did you bring me that book?"

"That's what you just asked for."

"Why would I ask for…" Twilight glanced at the title quickly to make sure she was reading it right, "…_Arks of Myth and History_? I'm trying to find a special spell to use at Pinkie Pie's party. Do you honestly think I'm going find a special spell in that book?"

Spike glanced at the book and back to Twilight who was giving him a look of exasperation, "I'm going to guess, no?"

"Humph," was all Twilight said before returning to her page turning.

"I don't know why you're getting all frazzled…"

Twilight looked up with annoyance, "I'm not frazzled."

"Hi Twilight! Whatcha doing? Are you working on party magic? Whatcha going to do? I bet it's something really cool!"

The voice from behind Twilight startled her. She let out a gasp as her horn shone brighter and she disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

"Oooo, hide and seek, I love it!" said a pink pony with balloons on her flank.

Spike looked at his empty hands, shrugged his shoulders and started looking around for Twilight.

"Pinkie Pie!" The annoyed voice came from above their heads. Both Pinkie and Spike looked up and saw Twilight standing upside down on the ceiling.

Pinkie stared wide-eyed in wonder, "Wow, that's a neat trick! That will be great for the party!"

"What? What trick?"

Spike wasn't as sure as Pinkie at what he was seeing, "Uh, Twilight, how are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Twilight was confused; staring up at Spike and Pinkie wasn't helping. She saw Spike motion to her hooves and she looked down. It was then that she realized that she was in fact looking up at her hooves that she started to fall. Fortunately quick thinking on her part allowed her to teleport back to the ground a fraction of a second later.

Pinkie Pie squealed and clapped in delight, "Oooo that was wonderful! You have to do that trick for Fluttershy's party!"

"I'm sorry Pinkie, that wasn't a trick that was an accident. I don't think I could do that again on purpose if I tried."

Pinkie was crestfallen, but she immediately perked up, "But you DO have a trick ready don't you?"

Twilight swallowed hard, she wanted to admit she hadn't found a special magic spell for the party yet, but instead, "Um, yes, of course I do."

Pinkie smiled brightly, "Oh tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Twilight stammered than answered, "I can't tell you much, all I can say is that it involves balloon animals."

Pinkie's smile quickly evaporated as she looked at Twilight suspiciously, "Balloon animals?"

"Er, yes," replied Twilight who was now working to push the protesting Pinkie out of the door of the library, "but I can't chat about it right now. Now if you can excuse me, I have a lot of practicing to do to make that spell work. Wouldn't want to disappoint Fluttershy," and with that she shoved Pinkie out the door and locked it.

As Twilight returned back to her books Spike stood there with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed, "Balloon animals?"

"I panicked."

* * *

Meanwhile, a little way outside of Ponyville there sits a colourfully decorated caravan with the words 'Great and Powerful Trixie' painted on the side. The unicorn owner of the caravan lays next it feeling anything but great and powerful. She's wearing a magician's hat and cape and is as emotionally blue as the colour of her hide. All Trixie wanted was fame and fortune and to be loved by everyone. Unfortunately her efforts backfired and she became a pariah through most of Equestria.

As she lay on the ground pawing the dirt with a hoof and feeling sorry for herself, there was a bright flash and a book drops to the ground beside her. Startled, she cautiously looks at it and reads the title: _Arks of Myth and History_. She smiles; perhaps she stands a chance of changing her life for the better.


	2. Chapter 2

Trixie slowly turned each page, carefully studying each entry before moving on to the next one.

"Noah's Ark….Ark of the Covenant…The Starlost? So lame….Pandora's Box….Pandora's Ark…Ah, that's the one!"

She carefully studied the entry, memorizing all its nuances. This is what she is seeking; this will solve all her problems. She imagined her future and smiled broadly…

* * *

"I don't get it."

Twilight looked up at her assistant, "What don't you get, Spike?"

"Pinkie Pie has like three parties a week, why is this so special?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Why it's Fluttershy's birthday."

"Oh yeah!" Spike had completely forgotten, fortunately Fluttershy was easy to shop for, "But I thought that she didn't like parties."

"What are you talking about? She absolutely loves parties!"

"I mean she doesn't like parties for herself."

Twilight smiled, "She doesn't like SURPRISE parties. As long as she knows she going to have one, she's fine," She paused and thought about it some more, "as well as knowing what food is being served, what guests will be there, where it will be held, and of course what spells I might use."

Spike nodded, satisfied with the response, however another thought occurred to him, "Are you sure balloon animals are a good idea for Fluttershy?"

Twilight pondered the question, "Well she loves animals and balloons are completely innocuous, so I don't see why not. If I can make the magic work, it should be fine." She then laughed, "I mean who doesn't love balloons?"

* * *

"Balloon animals?" Fluttershy didn't like the sound of that.

Pinkie nodded, "That's what she said!"

Fluttershy pondered the implications of it, "She's not going to make balloons out of animals is she?"

Pinkie had to give that some thought….

* * *

Trixie paused at the edge of the Everfree Forest. She knew the stories of ghosts and goblins and dragons and witches that live in gingerbread houses that lure young foals so they can be eaten. Her own experience with the Ursa Minor suggests that there are probably even worse creatures waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting pony. Unfortunately the one she seeks lives there. They've never met but they certainly knew of one another. Zecora was the one that helped Twilight Sparkle defeat the Alicorn Amulet that Trixie used by convincing her to take it off. Trixie hoped Zecora didn't hold a grudge.

Trixie cautiously entered the Everfree Forest, a passage that didn't go unnoticed. Nearby a pink pony and yellow pegasus watched with keen interest and concern.

* * *

"Why are we whispering?"

"I'm not whispering," replied Fluttershy, "I wonder where Trixie is going?"

Pinkie's face darkened, "Trixie. She is the one that took away my mouth. I couldn't talk, or sing, or eat cupcakes, or blow horns, or go blblblblblbl." Pinkie rubbed her hoof against her lips making a funny noise, "She also made Rarity wear an inappropriate shade of brown."

"She didn't do anything to me."

Pinkie's face twisted in rage, "Oooooo, she is so evil," she whispered angrily, "We should follow her to see what evil scheme she is cooking up. I bet it involves actually cooking."

Fluttershy didn't like the idea of following Trixie into the Everfree Forest, "No, we should tell Twilight, she'll know what to do. Besides, Trixie has left already."

"Oh. Then why are we still whispering?"

"I was never whispering."

* * *

Zecora was engrossed with making a potion…or soup…it could go either way. The deciding point would be when it was time to add either dragonweed or carrots. At that juncture, it will either become a cure for warts, or supper.

She heard a knock on the door causing her to sigh. As much as likes being no longer considered an evil zebra sorceress, she sometimes missed the days that she could create and meditate without interruption. She opened the door and saw a blue pony wearing a wizard's hat and cape. Zecora snorted in annoyance.

"Hello, Tr…er…I am a lost traveler, I was wondering if you could help me out?"

Zecora's eyes narrowed, she wasn't buying any of it. "Drop the act, Trixie's your name. The question is: what is your game?"

Trixie gave a surprised look, and paused, apparently trying to work out what Zecora said before answering, "Trixie thought that you might know who Trixie is. Trixie is not here to cause trouble; Trixie only wants your help."

Zecora remained suspicious, "Not causing trouble is something that is nice, but helping you comes at a steep price."

After working out the rhyme, Trixie continued, "Trixie is looking for a headpiece. It is but a small trinket, not even magical. Trixie hopes you can locate it for her."

"You talk like you think I'm a fool! Leave now before I lose my cool!"

Trixie's face contorted in anger, "Give me the headpiece for the Staff of Pandora! It belongs to me, it's my birthright!" Trixie moved right into Zecora's face.

"You try to threaten me and make me cower? You are simply not worthy of its power!"

"Stop talking in rhyme!" screamed Trixie as her horn started to glow.

"You dare condemn my speaking in rhyme when…gak…" Zecora suddenly found herself unable to speak. She tried again, "You…" and again, "What…" and finally, "No." before she crumpled to the ground in frustration.

Trixie raised an eyebrow in surprise at Zecora's reaction, but she wasted no time searching for the object of her desire. Her horn glowed brightly as she swept the room, finally settling on a chest in the corner. With Zecora babbling on the floor, she approached the chest. It was a simple lock, easy enough to pick, protected by several magics, which were just as easy to nullify, especially by somepony with the right experience, and Trixie was that somepony. In less than a minute the chest was open. It contained many objects, most of them magical. She saw the Alicorn Amulet, and her horn tickled at some objects that had even greater power, but she only wanted the headpiece. She found it and levitated it. It glistened in the firelight. It was circular, and made of gold with a ruby set in the centre. It was engraved with ancient unicorn glyphs around the edges and intricate designs were inlayed over the entire piece.

Trixie was suddenly hit hard into a wall by Zecora and the headpiece fell to the ground. Zecora grabbed the artifact but it was just as quickly snatched back by Trixie's magic. Zecora rushed the blue unicorn, hitting her hard forcing the headpiece to skitter across the floor. Trixie kicked away the angry zebra and lunged for the golden object getting a hoof on it only to have Zecora tackle her again. Trixie's horn glowed and she easily levitated and tossed her striped nemesis across the room. Zecora attempted to get up but her strength left her and she fell unconscious.

Trixie was winded from the fight but she knew she couldn't waste time. She looked for the headpiece and saw that it was knocked into the caldron fire. Instinctively she reached for it with her hoof, and screamed in pain. She raced out of the hut in a desperate hunt for water. She found a small pond, and soaked her burning hoof, letting out a sigh of relief as the pain subsided.

As she dreamily stared at the steam rising from the water she caught out of the corner of her eye a huge moving shadow. It was a giant serpent raising itself above her menacingly. Trixie screamed again and raced off into the forest ignoring her throbbing hoof.


	3. Chapter 3

"Twilight…uhm…er…uh..."

As Pinkie and Fluttershy entered the library, Fluttershy tried to get Twilight's attention only to be taken aback by a strange sight. A balloon seemed to be trying to eat Twilight's rear flank, making squeak-squeak sounds with each attempt at biting. Twilight seemed unconcerned with it with all her focus on a book in front of her.

"Are you sure it's not a spell for making zombie balloon animals?" questioned Spike who was looking through a book of his own.

"Pretty sure," Twilight looked up and noticed her new visitors, "…oh, hi girls!"

Pinkie stared in amusement while Fluttershy stared in shock. Twilight realized what they were looking at, "Oh that, don't worry, and I'll get the spell worked out before your party. It's actually pretty harmless, apart from the absurd amount of static cling it generates, but we wouldn't want the balloons to be attacking the guests now would we." Twilight gave a weak little laugh before turning to her assistant, "Spike?"

"I'm on it." Without even looking, Spike threw a dart hitting the balloon and popping it with ease.

Pinkie squealed in delight while Fluttershy recoiled in horror.

Twilight now turned her attention to her two guests, "Now how can…ah…wait a minute, how did you two get in here? I thought I locked the door."

Pinkie laughed, "We came in through the back door, silly!"

Twilight looked perplexed, "I have a back door?" She looked past the two ponies and sure enough there was a back door. "Spike, did you know about this?"

"A back door? Sure, I use it all the time."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Spike got up and moved over to Twilight, showing some annoyance, "Tell you? Why would I tell you? I mean it's right there!" Spike gestured emphatically towards the previously unnoticed door.

Twilight was downright miffed, "I've lived here for three years now, how can I not have noticed it before now? You would think that at some point I would have looked at it and said 'Oh, I have a back door!' but to go three years without realizing I even have a rear entrance…"

"Uh, Twilight," said Fluttershy in an attempt steer the conversation to more important matters, "I'm sorry to interrupt your…uh…rant…but…"

"Trixie is up to some evil scheme," interrupted Pinkie, unable to contain herself anymore, "that may contain cooking, perhaps cleaning, maybe juggling bunnies, but definitely dressing Fluttershy up as a tree and making her do absolutely nothing!"

"Grrr, Trixie," growled Spike, "she turned me into ball and bounced me! And she made Rarity wear a shade of brown that should only be used as an accent!"

"She did nothing to me," added Fluttershy.

"She is so evil," continued Spike, "If I get me claws on her, I will dress her in some unflattering colours."

Twilight blinked before slowly turning to Fluttershy, "What is this REALLY about?"

"We saw Trixie enter the Everfree Forest."

"That's all?"

Fluttershy nodded in the affirmative.

Twilight had to give it some thought, "Might be nothing, she had promised that she had changed, but then again Zecora lives out that way, and she might be going after the Alicorn Amulet again. To be safe, we should check it out."

"I'll get the others," volunteered Fluttershy.

"No, no, the four of us should be able to handle it."

"Oh." Fluttershy gave a downcast look.

"Okay, let's head out." Twilight immediately moved towards the back door.

Spike was a little puzzled by this, "Don't you want to go out the front door?"

"No, I want to make sure this door is real."

* * *

The group entered the Everfree Forest engaged in an intense conversation, "What if I accidently magically created the door?"

Spike rolled his eyes, "Twilight, that door has been there since we moved in."

"How about," suggested Pinkie, "Twilight accidently created the door but she also altered everyone's memories into thinking that the door has always been there and only Twilight remembers that there was never a door there before."

Twilight was impressed, "That's very good Pinkie." She gave Pinkie a hoof bump and turned to Spike, "What she said."

Spike sighed, "Okay, you win. The door hasn't always been there, we only think it's been there."

Twilight broke into a very broad and satisfied smile. Her expression suddenly changed and she stopped everyone, "Wait a minute, something's wrong. Where is Fluttershy?"

"She's back at the entrance to the forest quivering in fear," answered Pinkie helpfully.

Twilight groaned and put her hoof to her face, "Pinkie!"

Pinkie stood up on her hind hoofs and saluted, "Yes, sir!"

"Fetch."

Pinkie left quickly leaving behind a cloud of dust and just as quickly returned with a stick in her mouth.

"Fluttershy," sighed Twilight.

"Oh yeah," giggled Pinkie and once again sped off leaving a cloud of dust. She was back again a minute later dragging a protesting Fluttershy by the tail.

"No no no no no no no…"

"Fluttershy!" exclaimed an annoyed Twilight, "You have faced down the most dangerous of creatures in here and you have saved all of our lives at one time or another. How can you still be afraid of going into the forest?"

"It's not the creatures that we know about in here that I'm afraid of, it's the creatures that we don't know about in here that I'm afraid of."

"Fluttershy, it's why we need you. You are the only one that has experience with these creatures and you always know how to handle them. We can't do this without you."

As Twilight spoke a giant serpent rose up above them menacingly.


	4. Chapter 4

The group noticed the giant beast and Twilight, Pinkie and Spike screamed in terror. Fluttershy just gave a smile of recognition, "Hello Rupert."

The great snake-like creature lowered its head even with the yellow pegasus, "Hello Fluttershy," spoke Rupert with a mellifluous voice, "it's good to see you. It's been too long."

The others in the group stared slack-jawed at the strange sight of the previously panicking pony now casually exchanging pleasantries with a monster that could swallow her whole in one gulp.

"It has. You're looking well Rupert, keeping fit I see."

"Well I try; it's not easy you know, not having arms, or legs. Who are your friends here?"

"Oh sorry, where are my manners? This is Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Spike." Each of her companions gave a broad awkward toothy grin. Spike offered a half-hearted wave.

"Ooo, a dragon! Please don't eat me! Just kidding, you're too small to eat me. Have you come for a visit I hope?"

Fluttershy shook her head no, "Unfortunately we're here looking for a pony named Trixie. Maybe you've seen her? She's a blue unicorn, and wears a pointed hat and cloak."

"Why yes in fact!" exclaimed Rupert, "Saw her not too long ago. She left Zecora's hut and had appeared to have hurt one of her legs. I was going to help her, but unfortunately she screamed and ran off. I assume she caught sight of some really scary monster in the forest. I don't blame her one bit; I would've done the same."

Twilight, having gotten over her initial shock, questioned Rupert, "Out of Zecora's hut you say? Was she wearing any jewelry or other type of adornment?"

Rupert shook his massive head, "Only saddle bags that you ponies wear to carry stuff that she had under her cloak, if that what you mean."

Twilight pondered the new information and turned to her companions, "Zecora might have stopped her from whatever she was up to," Twilight then turned to Rupert, "We should go now and check on Zecora, thank you kind sir for all of your help."

"It is my pleasure, I'm always glad to be of assistance, it was nice meeting you all. And Fluttershy, please don't be a stranger, you can come visit anytime."

After Fluttershy and Rupert exchanged their goodbyes, the serpent and the group went their separate ways. As they headed towards Zecora's hut, Twilight spoke to Fluttershy with an annoyed edge to her tone of voice.

"So, an old friend of yours?"

"Oh yes, it's been a couple of years since I've seen him. He has a wonderful singing voice, but he sure can talk your ear off."

Twilight gave Fluttershy a sideways glance. After three years she still can't figure out that yellow pegasus.

It didn't take long for the quartet to reach Zecora's hut. Much to their concern, the door to her home was open. They rushed in to find a rather sad looking zebra standing among the debris of some of her possessions.

"Zecora! What happened?" Twilight looked into the eyes of her friend and mentor and saw something she thought she would never see, a look of defeat and frustration.

"I…" was all Zecora could say before stopped by frustration. She tried again, "When…" and once again she faltered. One last time she tries, "Talk…" but she can only sigh and cast her eyes downward. Suddenly Zecora springs up and starts gesturing wildly.

"Oooo, charades!" squealed Pinkie, "I love charades! I'm great at them! Okay first word…Gary Lockwood?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, this could take all day. She saw the open chest and decided to check it out.

"Shall Equestria Endure? No…?"

She looked in the chest. The Alicorn Amulet was there.

"Steven Spielberg?"

Twilight could also sense that other objects in the chest had even more power. She could hear their whispering, trying to get her attention. These mystical artifacts did not interest her…

"The Phantom Menace?"

Twilight turned her attention back to Zecora. If she was going to solve this, she needed to find out what Trixie did to her. Perhaps a game of 20 questions might help…

"Trixie cast a spell on you and now you can't rhyme!"

Zecora gave a gentle smile, raised her hoof and pointed to her nose. Pinkie jumped for joy at getting it right.

Twilight realized that she should stop being surprised at Pinkie's talents. At least now they know what the problem is, and it was easy enough to solve. Twilight's horn glowed and light drifted over and touched Zecora's mind.

"Ah," said Zecora breathing a sigh of relief, "Now that you've fixed my head, I can now say what needs to be said."

"Zecora, what happened here?"

"The one you dueled called Trixie was here, seeking the Ark of Pandora, I fear."

"Ark of Pandora?"

"Pandora was a wizard of great power in lore, who built an ark for her soul to store. As her hours grew short and dark, her magic she placed within the ark. Only the worthy may seek its might, and drink from its river of light."

"Is the Ark here?"

"No, the Staff of Pandora is what she sought; over the headpiece was what we fought. Its gem would have shown her heart's desire, but instead she left it in that fire." Zecora motioned to the headpiece of the staff having been fished out of the fire, now sitting next to it, dirtied from the charcoal and still too hot to touch.

Twilight levitated the golden medallion-like object and then used a simple cleaning spell to polish it up. The four friends peered at in wonder.

Twilight furrowed her brow, "This isn't magical."

Zecora shook her head no.

"What is that strange writing on it?" wondered Spike.

Twilight smiled, "That's ancient unicorn, which fortunately I can read."

"What does it say?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well this side says: 'Only the worthy shall seek Pandora's Ark'," Twilight then flipped the headpiece, "and this side says: 'Place at 18 hands high at the time of highest sun'." Twilight let out a little giggle.

Pinkie pushed in real close trying to see, "What's so funny?"

Twilight laughed, "Oh in the original unicorn, it's actually a rather clever rhyme."

Fluttershy had a puzzled look and finally spoke up, "So what is a 'hand'?"

"It's an ancient form of measurement. Don't ask me where they got the name from, it never made sense to me. One hand is 4 inches, so 18 hands is 6 feet."

There was one thing still bugging Spike, "So where are we supposed to take this Staff of Pandora?"

Everyone was silent. Twilight looked at Zecora who only shook her head no. She started flipping the headpiece back and forth trying to see if it provided a clue. "I have no idea….wait a minute…" Twilight noticed something and started spinning the artifact faster and faster. An image of a structure made with stone columns appeared from the swirling golden disc.

Pinkie peered at in astonishment, "What building is that?"

"I have no idea," admitted Twilight, "but it does look familiar. I would have to do some research."

"Guys, guys!" interjected Spike, "Do we really need to try to find this? I like to pound on Trixie as much as the next dragon, but if she didn't get this golden doo-dad, then she can't find this 'Pandora's Ark', can she? All we need to do is hide this thing better, right?"

Twilight had to think about this, she was of two minds on this. On one hoof, Spike was right, on the other, "We don't know how much Trixie knows. One thing we know for certain, Trixie won't stop until she gets what she wants." She looked to Zecora for confirmation.

"Trixie seeks power for its own sake, so a decision is what you must make. I trust you to do what is best. To protect the ark, you can do this quest."

Twilight gave a determined smile, "Then it's settled. We probably have a head start, so let's go home. Spike and I will do some research. You guys gather the rest of the gang and we will meet back at the library first thing in the morning. Come prepared for a long journey, we don't know what's going to await us."


	5. Chapter 5

It was the next morning shortly after the break of dawn and the library was a beehive of activity. Twilight and Spike were joined by their friends Pinkie, Fluttershy, the orange farm pony Applejack, the white unicorn Rarity and the multi-coloured and aptly named pegasus Rainbow Dash.

"I know you are all asking yourselves why I gathered you all here today."

"Spike!" admonished Twilight.

Spike leaned over to his boss and in hushed tones said, "Please, I've always wanted to say that."

Twilight gently shook her head in a disapproving way, "Now is not the time. This is serious business." She then magically shuffled her index cards in the correct order and turned to her gathered friends who looked at her expectantly, "Now before I begin, I wish to ask you all something. Who else here knew there was a backdoor in the library?"

Spike gaped at her in surprise and then chided, "'Serious business' huh? You are like a dog with a bone. Will you give it up already?"

Applejack spoke up, "There has always been a back door to the library as far back as I can remember."

Rarity nodded in agreement, while Dash just shrugged her shoulders.

"So there was a back door before we moved in?"

"Well the library goes back to the early years of the founding of Ponyville, but since I was a little foal, there has been a back door."

"The library was built, or I should say created by the first unicorn settler of Ponyville, Liberty Belle, my great-grandfather" added Rarity, "So I imagine the door has been there since the beginning. It's all there on the dedication plaque."

Twilight was shocked, "There's a dedication plaque?"

Spike rolled his eyes and sighed, "It's right there next to the front entrance. How could you not have noticed it? Next you're going to tell me you didn't know about the safe hidden in the bookshelf."

"We have a safe?!"

Now it was Pinkie's turn to chime in, "I once accidently squished a strawberry into the carpet and left that stain there."

Twilight looked at the stain and let out a scream, only to cut it short two seconds later, "Oh, wait a minute, I knew about that." Twilight narrowed her eyes at the now sheepish Pinkie, "So that was you?"

"Told you it wasn't me," mumbled an annoyed Spike.

There was a loud whistle as Dash tried to get everyone's attention, "I thought this meeting was about some scheme that Trixie is up to, not 'what Twilight doesn't know about the library.'"

"What, Trixie?" Rarity was confused by the reference to the braggart unicorn.

Twilight, now having remembered why they were gathered, turned to Rarity, "What did you think the meeting was about?"

"Oh I figured it was the start to one of our usual adventures; 'Fluttershy will be turned into a tree…blah, blah, blah…giant singing snake…blah, blah, blah…spinny golden thingy…blah, blah, blah…the Cake twins are saying their first words…blah, blah, blah.'"

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the jumbled narrative, "I take it you got the Pinkie Pie version of events."

Pinkie realizing the conversation was about her, became indignant, "I never said 'Fluttershy will be turned into a tree', I said 'Fluttershy _might_ be _dressed_ as a tree.' And I never said 'blah' once. I used 'huh' 37 times and blue twice. Actually I used blue once and blew once, but since they are homonyms they are almost the same word, they just mean two different things; isn't that funny? Also I used 'lah' once but that was a mistake, what I really meant to say…"

"Okay Pinkie, we get the idea," interrupted Twilight trying to get the meeting back on track.

"If I can add something," interjected Fluttershy politely, "I just want to say that nopony is trying to turn me into a tree or dress me up as a tree, or perform any kind of arbour related misconduct against me." She then turned to Rarity, "Are you not going to mention how Trixie had forced you to wear an unfashionable shade of brown?"

Rarity winced, "No, why would I want to relive that little bit of horror?"

"If I can get everypony's attention," Twilight said with a commanding voice, "I would like to get on with why we are here."

The group fell silent and looked to her. Twilight cleared her throat, and magically adjusted her index cards before starting to speak. She started off with a recap of yesterday's events, mentioning how Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie observed Trixie entering the Everfree Forest, journeying there themselves and finding Zecora's tree hut wrecked from a fight with Trixie, who was unsuccessful in obtaining the headpiece to the Staff of Pandora that would point the way to Pandora's Ark.

"Spike and I came back to the library and I started the research on Pandora's Ark…"

"Tell them about the book," interrupted Spike.

"Yes." Twilight suddenly looked a little uncomfortable, "I wanted to reference _Arks of Myth and History_ but I found it was missing. Either Trixie somehow was able to magically retrieve it, or…" She fell silent and looked at Spike who was encouraging her to go on. She swallowed hard and continued, "somehow I accidently teleported it away and she found it." The group didn't react, so Twilight tried to explain, "You see when I teleport, I don't just suddenly move from one spot to the next, what I do is fold four dimensional space so I can travel in a fifth dimensional straight hyper-line, for lack of a better term. Generally speaking, any object that travels with me will end up, sometimes the worse for wear, at the same spot I travel to. It is theoretically possible that if an object were to become separated from me while in hyperspace, it could emerge randomly anywhere, but that would require an intentional application of an external force…" She suddenly realized she was being met with collective blank stares and decided to cut it short, "Anyway to sum up, it's possible but unlikely I'm responsible…"

Applejack spoke up, "Okay then, I take it this book is important?"

"Yes. I believe it was that book that led Trixie to start searching out the ark. It's possible that even without the headpiece, she might still be able to find it."

"So then what does this 'headpiece' actually do?"

"Ah," smiled Twilight, "I'm glad that you asked. What this headpiece is, is a location finder. You see, back in the ancient times, valuable treasures and powerful magical items were often hidden to avoid them falling into the wrong hands. Libraries in those times were built with map rooms that contained a special slot that will allow a sliver of sun to shine through. When you place this headpiece on a staff of a specific length and place that staff on the right spot on a calendar on the floor at the right time, a beam of light will shine through it pointing to the location on the map where the treasure is located."

Dash was the next to speak, "What about this 'Pandora's Ark', what does it do?"

"Well, let me give you some background on it first…"

"Can't you just tell us what it does?" interrupted an impatient Dash.

"You can only understand what it does if I give you some background on it first," lectured Twilight while Dash rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. Twilight continued, "Pandora was a power unicorn wizard that lived long ago during the time of the Unicorn Kingdom. She was a member of the Council of Eight with Star Swirl the Bearded, and the only filly on the council. Eight is a powerful number for unicorn wizards, for example, it represents the number of colours in the visible spectrum…"

Dash took a glance to her tail and did a quick count, "Ah Twilight, there are only six colours."

"Actually there is a colour between blue and violet that is often forgotten called indigo, and the eighth colour is called octarine, a colour that can only be seen by unicorns…

"And dragons," added Spike.

"…and it is a colour that can't be described. It is the colour of magic."

"Though I think it looks kind of greenish purple," interjected Rarity, then a thought suddenly occurred to her, "Wait a minute, only unicorns can see it?"

"And dragons," added Spike more emphatically.

Twilight nodded.

Rarity put a hoof to her face, "I guess I should stop using it in my designs. It explains so much…."

"Anyway," continued Twilight, "Pandora is noted for her work with Zebra shaman, which is probably how Zecora acquired the headpiece, having been passed down through the generations. She was also known not only for being powerful, but was kind and generous. She wanted to pass her power on to a worthy successor. To that end she built an ark to house her magic once she passed on. If Trixie opens that ark that power will pass on to her and she will become the most powerful unicorn in Equestria."

A hush fell on the room as everyone absorbed the story. It was Applejack that finally broke the silence, "So where do we go?"

"Well we found an image of a building when we spun the headpiece. It turns out that building was a library located in the capital of the old Unicorn Kingdom. Fortunately we don't need to go that far. The ruins of the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters also had a library that we can use. That is only going to take us a day to get there…"


End file.
